Simvastatin Does Not Adversely Affect Achilles Tendon Properties In A Diet Induced Hypercholesterolemia Rat Model

Introduction: Hypercholesterolemia affects a third of adults in the United States and is commonly managed with statins. While statins provide proven cardiovascular benefits, their effect on the musculoskeletal system has been understudied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of statins on Achilles tendons of diet induced hypercholesterolemic rats.Methods: Thirty adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to three groups: control (CTL, n=10), high cholesterol (HC, n=10), and high cholesterol with statin (HC+S, n =10). CTL was fed normal chow, while HC and HC+S were fed high cholesterol chow. HC+S received simvastatin during the final 3 months, with all animals sacrificed 9 months after the study was initiated, followed by biomechanical testing and histological analysis.Results: HC Achilles demonstrated increased stiffness as compared to both CTL and HC+S. Histological analysis revealed trends toward increased cellularity in HC as compared to both CTL and HC+S. Both stiffness and cellularity exhibited a potential return to baseline effect with statin treatment, with no differences observed between CTL and HC+S.Conclusions: While we were unable to determine conclusive therapeutic effects of statins, results support that statins may not have detrimental effects on Achilles tendon health when prescribed to hypercholesterolemic individuals.